F5: Chanukah

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Chanukah - 20th century

There is no doubt that Chanukah is a moving story. It teaches us about bravery and belief and it is worth remembering. But what special message does it have for us in the twentieth century? Why do the Sages tell us that the festival of Chanukah is on a par with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur even though it happened long after the Torah was given? The answer lies in seeing what the real victory of Chanukah was all about.

You see, even though the famous story ends with the Jews rejoicing over their newly rededicated Temple and recaptured Jerusalem, that episode didn't last very long. The Jews never ever managed to rescue the rest of their homeland from Syrian rule and within a few hundred years the Romans had taken control over all of Israel and were well on their way to world domination. Since then there has been no Temple in Jerusalem, even with the Jewish return to Israel in 1948 and the re-establishment of an independent state.

When you look at the Chanukah story in context, the victory isn't that incredible. It was a brief interlude before the final destruction of the Temple, the extermination of hundreds of thousands of Jews and the exile of the rest for nearly 2000 years. Why do we still celebrate such a minor, short lived victory?

Culture War

More than the Syrians, it was the Greek culture that the devoted Maccabees were fighting against. Antiochus did not want to destroy Jews, he wanted to destroy Judaism! If the Jews had given up on their beliefs then they could have lived freely and happily. But they would not because they rejected the culture that was being forced upon them. By contrasting the two cultures: Greek and Jewish, we can understand why our people would never give up on their way of life.

Athens vs. Jerusalem

We start with a third party to make a balanced comparison. Winston Churchill will oblige us:

No other two races [but the Jews and the Greeks] have set such a mark upon the world. Each of them, from angles so different, have left us with the inheritance of its genius and wisdom. No two cities have counted more with Mankind that Athens and Jerusalem. Their messages in religion, philosophy and art have been the main guiding light in modern faith and culture. Personally, I have always been on the side of both...

Churchill not only praises both, he recognises that both still have an influence today. Both are still growing and vibrant at the end of the twentieth century. Let us analyse both...

The West and the Jew

Greek society is the father of modern Western civilisation. It is striking how similar our present attitudes are to their own. We live in the shadow of Greek culture. Beauty, art, philosophy, science, music and sport are idolised today just as they were then. Ancient Greek ideas and ideals still guide our thoughts and lives. Then there is Judaism. Stubborn as anything, refusing to lie down, Judaism still survives. Jews continue to pray, eat, talk and live in ways that have become an ancient tradition. Now for the comparisons:

(i) Muscle building, obsessive fitness, eternal beauty and the worship of the body are the hallmarks of ancient Greek culture and of the West today. Jewish tradition asks Jews to circumcise their eight day old boys, dress sensibly and value the beauty of morality and honesty more than that of the flesh.

(ii) Success, competitiveness and winning at all costs were ancient Greek ideals which we see today in the worlds of business and sport. Fortunes can be made and lost in a day, and athletes will risk addiction to illegal drugs for the chance of winning a single medal. Judaism teaches that our own abilities cannot be compared to anyone else and that your own will and motivation count more than beating everyone else. Sport is recreational and only competition whose stakes are personal achievement are commended in Judaism. Success in business is fine too, but the need to be the richest, the fastest - the very very best - is not.

(iii) Philosophy, science, art and medicine, for their own sake, were priceless in ancient Greece and today these disciplines are still revered. Judaism too values these but always saw an underlying morality in them. Does your philosophy help you live more justly? Do your scientific achievements allow you to respect and honour your place in nature? Does art make you more sensitive? Does your medicine help those in need in a moral way? These are the questions Judaism asks, and the answers often differ from what Western society accepts. To get an idea, consider how to deal with the following issues: controlling freedom of speech, use of the atomic bomb, environmental pollution, legalised pornography and abortion on demand.

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